Best Foot Forward
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Best Foot Forward (1943) is a film version of the hit 1941 Broadway musical comedy. The film was released by MGM, directed by Edward Buzzell, and starring Lucille Ball, William Gaxton, Virginia Weidler, June Allyson, and Tommy Dix.
There’s an endless supply of energy in this sweet-natured musical comedy, which finds a glamorous Ball playing herself against an unlikely backdrop, namely, a military academy full of frisky boys. Ball is the reluctant guest of a diminutive cadet, Bud Hooper (Dix), who wrote her a mash note and invitation to be his date at a school prom.
Ball’s publicity man (Gaxton) seizes upon the situation as a perfect PR stunt and convinces her to travel 3,000 miles to join Hooper at Winsocki Military Academy’s dance. When Ball actually shows up, mayhem ensues. Hooper, who never dreamed she would accept, has to disinvite his girlfriend, Helen (Weidler), and ask Ball to pretend to be her lest the actress herself not pass muster with the institution’s screening committee.
Helen fights back while Hooper tries to keep Ball from the clutches of other cadets who’d like to, say, take the famous redhead for a walk in the moonlight. Meanwhile, Harry James and his orchestra let loose with "The Flight of the Bumblebee" and the cast hoof and sing their way through such fun numbers as "Three Men on a Date", "Alive and Kickin'", and "What Do You Think I Am?" Some famous or soon-to-be-famous folks wander through the tuneful craziness, including Nancy Walker, Chill Wills, Gloria DeHaven, and future director Stanley Donen.
[edit] Trivia
- MGM bought the rights to the musical for $150,000.
- This is the movie debut of both Nancy Walker and June Allyson.
- The hit song from the show, Buckle Down, Winsocki, with altered lyrics, was used in the 1960's and '70's for a seat belt commercial.
- A 1963 Off-Broadway production of the show featured Liza Minnelli in her stage debut.
